


Day Six: Thomas & Teresa

by claryherondale



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Mild Smut, One Shot, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/claryherondale/pseuds/claryherondale
Summary: Day 6 of My 31 Favorite ShipsAs they were about to portal to the paradise, Brenda was killed by the collapsing building instead of Teresa. Now, six months later, Thomas and Teresa are in love, trying to recover from all that they went through during the trials and after. But, with a setting as beautiful as Thomas knows Teresa is, they are finally able to put things to rest and take the next step in their relationship.





	

**Author's Note:**

> "I only ever . . . cared for . . ."
> 
> There is some mild smut in this, so don't read on if that will offend you.

For the first time Thomas could remember, he felt safe. Waking up every morning in the paradise was like a dream—he had never imagined that they, as “Munies”, could find a sanctuary in a world ridden by the Flare. He feared going to sleep every night, because part of him was sure that this wasn’t real. That, and nightmares plagued him every time his head hit the pillow: distorted memories of killing Newt and watching Brenda die just as they were about to reach the other side, where things were good.

Thomas was slowly healing from all of the terrible things that had happened—they all were. But it wasn’t easy. He hadn’t told Minho that he was the one who killed Newt. He didn’t think he ever would. There were some things just best left unsaid. But Thomas had told Teresa, and as much as it pained them both, she understood it well. She had seen the effects of the Flare up close, all of those years ago before WICKED had taken her, when she was a little girl named Deedee.

After many long, painstaking conversations, Thomas had forgiven Teresa for everything she had done, every transgression. She was being manipulated by WICKED when she betrayed him, and there was nothing that Thomas understood more. At the end of everything, they had different viewpoints on where they wanted to be in the fight, but they never wanted to be against each other. They were both just trying to do the right thing.

In the paradise, they had grown back together. They had been here about half a year now, and although losing Newt and Brenda was awful and he was still processing his grief, Thomas hadn’t succumbed to helplessness or depression.

There were difficult moments for them all, certainly—every single one of them that had made it here. But together, they were beginning to move on and start looking at the future they had ahead of them, filled with peace. It was hard to accept that the rest of the world was in chaos, engorged with death, illness, and despair, but there was nothing they could do about it. They had to learn to not let the guilt ravage them, because this was the only way they could continue the human race: staying here and repopulating, away from the sickness.

Over the last few months, Thomas had been trying to process the emotions he had for Brenda before she died. But, as terrible as he felt admitting it to himself, he had just been trying to replace Teresa with her. Brenda was not her. She could never be her. And although Thomas had grown close to Brenda and he missed her terribly every day, he knew that he loved Teresa. 

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, and the cold, blue sky was filled with a painter’s pallet of colors. The descending array of hues bled out onto the nearby ocean, darkening the water. Thomas sat beside Teresa on the grassy cliff, their hands intertwined. He looked over at her, trying and failing at subtly as he studied her features, in awe and disbelief that he was fortunate enough to be here, in this beautiful sanctuary, with her. He couldn’t believe that he not only got to finally experience this serenity, but that he got to share it with her.

Teresa’s thick, black hair was slightly tangled by the breeze that picked it up and drew it out behind her. Her blue eyes were bright, and for once, they were at rest. Her pale cheeks had a little bit of color to them now, a rosy sheen that was echoed in her natural lips. A lot of the survivors had begun making clothes out of the materials that they had, learning and teaching each other how to sew, and Teresa was wearing one of the dresses she and Thomas had worked on together.

It was just as blue as her eyes, and it was light and short. Thomas thought it complimented her nicely, and it was just another marker of the normalcy they were slowly but surely gaining. Above all else, Teresa looked happy. And Thomas felt happy, too.

She looked over at him after a moment and broke into a smile as she asked, “What?”

“Nothing,” said Thomas, embarrassed that he had been caught staring, although it certainly wasn’t the first time.

Teresa knew that wasn’t true. She let go of his hand and leaned over to kiss him. They had kissed plenty of times since they had gotten to the paradise, but every time, it felt new. Thomas wasn’t exactly an expert at anything involving romance and neither was Teresa, but they were learning together. 

Thomas reached out and ran his rough fingers up over Teresa’s cheek, which was slightly cold in the atmosphere of the setting sun, not quite as hot as the rest of the world. He dragged his hand up into her hair, wrapping it in her dark locks. Teresa’s slightly chapped lips parted against Thomas’s, and he slowly and carefully explored her mouth with his tongue. Teresa drew him closer to herself, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pulled her body flush with his.

They had kissed many times, quite intensely, since they had gotten back, but Thomas thought it almost seemed like Teresa wanted . . . more. Her arms unlocked from around his neck, and one of her hands slowly crept up under his shirt, exploring his muscled flesh. Her skin was soft against his abdomen, and an ache that had been developing in him since they had gotten here—and he could concentrate on things other than basic survival and trying to figure out what was right in the face of a gray world—rose in him. Thomas tried to suppress it because he wasn’t quite sure how Teresa would respond to his wandering thoughts, but the way she was touching him wasn’t really helping.

When Teresa went to take off Thomas’s shirt, he forced himself to stop her.

Immediately, she pulled away from him, her cheeks getting redder. “I—I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.”

Thomas still wasn’t used to this side of Teresa, the side that was vulnerable and exposed, that she generally showed only to him. She was always so fierce and confident, strong and unafraid, ready and willing to stand up for what she believed in. But this was new territory for both of them, and they trusted each other enough to allow themselves to be open with one another. 

“No, you didn’t make me uncomfortable,” he assured her. He took a deep breath, deciding to tell her the truth. “I just . . . don’t know if I can exactly, you know, stop—if we go any further.”

“Tom, have you ever considered the possibility that I don’t want to stop?”

Thomas smiled a little bit, trying to suppress his desire. “Don’t play with me about that. Teresa, we don’t even really know about these types of things.”

“We know enough,” Teresa murmured. “We’ve picked up enough from the others, as they have discovered it all. Sonya and Minho have certainly figured it out.”

At that, Thomas laughed. “I think everyone here knows that.”

Teresa grinned. “I’m not just teasing you, Tom. I want this. I want you. I never thought that we would get here—somewhere safe, I mean. But now that we have, the dust has had time to settle and I’m ready to take the next step with you. I love you more than I ever thought was possible. We can take all the time you want, but I trust you. I trust you enough to give myself to you. I’m not afraid. Not anymore.”

She bit her lip, and Thomas could see the strain in her eyes, keeping her from all but attacking him. So he decided to take initiative, given the consent she had willingly vocalized to him. He kissed her with every bit of passion that he had thought he would never get to express to her, all of that time in the maze and then in the scorch, all of that time when they were separated as they tried to figure out what to do: join the Right Hand or relinquish their control to WICKED yet again.

Teresa responded with just as much fervor, running her hands up the back of his neck and into his hair. Her fingernails just lightly grazed his skin, making him shudder. She quickly got around to pulling his shirt off again, and for a moment, she marveled at him with her wide, blue eyes. They were filled with ice that had melted in the time since they had been here. 

It wasn’t as though she hadn’t seen him shirtless before; it was just the first time it was actually leading somewhere, and that made things different. It changed both of their perspectives on every little detail of each other’s touches, because there was more coming, more that they had not yet experienced.

Teresa went back to kissing him, eventually shifting so that she was on top of Thomas, her legs kneeling on either side of him. He tried to keep control of himself, to let her be in charge of their pace, but it wasn’t easy, especially with the way Teresa was positioned over him. She parted from his lips, though she quickly and eagerly traveled her kiss down to his neck. She sucked and nipped at the skin there, certainly leaving marks. 

“Do you . . .” Thomas gasped, struggling to breathe enough to talk, “do you want to go back down there . . . so we can go into one of . . . our houses?”

Teresa moved back so she could gaze into his eyes, hers filled with suggestive lust. “Everyone’s gathered for dinner right now, which is on the other side of the grass, not to mention that we’re far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to see us regardless.”

“You’re not suggesting that we lose our virginities right here, are you?” he asked, although he couldn’t keep the edge of excitement out of his voice.

“Why not?” she said innocently. “This is the first place we kissed after we got here, the place where we said ‘I love you’ for the first time. The grass here is nice and soft, and it’s not too cold yet. Harriet is probably in her and my house right now, ignoring dinner for the sake of Miyoko. Those girls hardly ever leave the bedroom. They’re almost as bad as Minho and Sonya. I could continue listing reasons, but I feel like we’re wasting time. . . . Unless you don’t want to.”

Thomas took a shaky breath. He was nervous. Nervous about messing this up for her. Nervous that, if he did, she wouldn’t love him anymore. He knew it was ridiculous, that they stemmed from his own securities instead of logic. And he wanted this, badly. He wanted her.

“No, I want to,” he said.

Just as Thomas had, Teresa was unlocked by his verbal consent. She kissed him again, slowly resting more of her slight weight upon him as she moved her legs so that they were wrapped around Thomas’s waist. They were both quickly losing control of themselves, unhinged against each other. Teresa parted their kiss and watched Thomas carefully as she pulled her dress up off over her head and tossed it aside. Thomas looked at her in awe, at her soft skin and mismatched bra and underwear.

She was beautiful. She was his. And he was completely hers.

Teresa moved so they could get his pants off. His legs were strong beneath her, and she was so wrapped around him that he was sure she could feel even the parts of him that he was trying to hide. Thomas’s shaky fingers went around to Teresa’s back, tracing down her sharp spine until he found her bra clasp. He fumbled with it for a couple of moments, still kissing her, and eventually managed to unhook it. He began to very tenderly slip the straps down off of her arms, but she stopped him, parting from the kiss.

“Do you want to stop?” Thomas asked unwillingly, knowing he could for her, but only with extreme concentration.

“No, not at all,” said Teresa. She cast her eyes downward. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed with what you see. I’m not . . . I mean, I know I’m not—”

“Teresa, stop,” he said, knowing what she was leading to. “You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, and I love you. Every single part of you.”

She took a breath that seemed to catch in her throat and then pulled her bra the rest of the way off. Thomas was trying to be mindful of her, but he was finding it difficult to even think. She was stunning. Completely stunning. Thomas knew that she was reading what he felt through his eyes, and that gave her confidence enough to continue on. She pulled her underwear off, throwing it beside them, and then helped him remove his as well. They were completely exposed to one another, on the cliff overlooking the paradise—and it was paradise, for both of them.

There was none of Teresa’s normal stubbornness in her eyes; it was all fierce and devoted vulnerability. Thomas looked at her carefully, her chest rising at falling with anticipatory breaths, her face not smiling but bright and happy nonetheless. He had never seen her more serene, never more in an environment that complimented her; the beauty of the paradise matched her.

“Teresa,” he whispered, one final reassurance, “are you sure you want this?”

“Yes,” she said, and her voice was strong and resolute. “I only ever cared for you.”

Thomas pressed his lips against hers, very tenderly, and murmured, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Teresa said, and she smiled now, her eyes just as alight. 

And they tangled together so closely under the leaving sun. Thomas rolled her over onto her back once she got used to him inside her, and they kissed and murmured sweetly to one another as their bodies rhythmically moved against each other. The stars came out as the sun went down, and Thomas saw Teresa looking up at them as she tangled her fingers tightly into his hair. The darkness obscured them from the rest of the world, but the moonlight allowed them to see each other.

Teresa gasped Thomas’s name, and he felt her convulsing around him, her hands gripping fiercely at his skin, trying to find any sort of anchor to keep her from floating up and disappearing into the sky. The sensation was enough to put Thomas over the edge, and he tried to stifle his moan, although Teresa was encouraging him urgently.

They stayed like that for a moment, kissing languorously, until they realized that it was getting late and people would start wondering where they went. They redressed quickly and started walking back toward their houses, despite the fact that they were unable to completely erase all of the evidence, especially the wildness of their hair.

When they got back, Teresa let go of Thomas’s hand just as Minho came up to them. Most people were in their houses, but he must have stayed up to wait for them to come back—an old habit from not just the maze but everything that followed.

As soon as he saw them, Minho broke into a huge, teasing smile. “Well, what were you guys doing?”

“We were just watching the sunset,” Thomas tried to say innocently. 

“Right,” Minho scoffed. “That’s why you have those bright red marks on your necks.”

Thomas blushed, reaching his hand up to try to cover them, but Teresa just laughed it off and said, “Alright, alright, you caught us. I deflowered your best friend.”

“It was about time,” Minho joked.

“Yeah,” Thomas said with a smile, looking over at Teresa, her tangled hair haloed by the silver of the moon, her face shining under the night sky. “It was about time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hint for tomorrow's ship:  
> The same actress portrays  
> the female counterpart.


End file.
